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February 2022


February news from the Equality and Human Rights Commission


Update on our work with the England and Wales Cricket Board


This month, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced they had lifted the suspension on Yorkshire County Cricket Club (YCCC) hosting international and major cricket matches at Headingley.


In November, following reports of incidents of racism at YCCC, in our role as regulator of the Equality Act we wrote to them asking for further information. After reviewing the documentation we considered it likely that an unlawful act had taken place. We have been monitoring the action plan between YCCC and the ECB and welcome the announcement that suspensions have been lifted as a clear sign that progress is being made.


“We will now closely monitor progress against their action plan, which will involve us attending quarterly checkpoint meetings with the YCCC and ECB. If progress is not made quickly enough, we will consider further legal action. We hope that other cricket clubs will take this opportunity to examine what they are doing to tackle discrimination and harassment, so that no one involved in cricket, whether as an amateur or a professional, suffers the racism that others sadly faced in the past” - Marcial Boo, Equality and Human Rights Commission Chief Executive.


Read our full statement on our work with ECB [link removed]


Blog: can we fund your client's race discrimination case?


In our new Linkedin blog, our Chief Legal Officer, Adam Sowerbutts, discusses our new legal fund to improve outcomes for victims of race discrimination. We recently launched the fund to advance race equality across Britain and to increase awareness amongst employers and public service providers about what the consequences are for not following the law.


Read Adam’s blog to find out more about how legal practitioners can apply for funding for their client’s case.


Read Adam's blog on our new legal fund [link removed]


Response to the Welsh Government's consultation on the VAWDASV strategy


Last week, our Wales team responded to the Welsh Government’s consultation on the refresh of the Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) strategy.


The response includes a recommendation for a holistic approach to tackling VAWDASV, including a focus on prevention, increasing awareness, and ensuring equal access to high quality, appropriate services for all survivors.


Read our response to the VAWDASV consultation [link removed]


Opinion piece: EHRC Chairwoman


Our Chairwoman, Baroness Kishwer Falkner, discussed our statutory duty to protect and promote equality and human rights for everyone in Britain, in the Observer.


The article looks at our role in regulating a legal framework that recognises nine protected characteristics and the legal basis for our governance.


Read the Observer opinion piece [link removed]


Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill briefing


We have recently published a briefing to provide advice for the House of Commons consideration of Lords amendments of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.


The briefing focusses on amendments agreed in the House of Lords on Monday 24 January on protest and public order, which put in place important safeguards for the right to peaceful protest guaranteed by Articles 10 (Freedom of Expression) and 11 (Freedom of Assembly) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).


Read our briefing on the PCSC Bill [link removed]


Webinar: Is long COVID a disability?


We are hosting an event for employers with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) on long COVID and disability.  The webinar will take place on Tuesday 1st March 2022 11am - 12 noon.


This webinar will cover the legal considerations for employers with staff that may have long COVID. The panel will discuss and answer questions on the following:


What is long COVID?


How widespread is long COVID?


How does it affect workers?


Which groups of workers are most affected?


Is long COVID a disability?


What should employers do to support workers with long COVID?


Book to attend the webinar [link removed]


Response to the Victims' Bill consultation


This month we responded to the Ministry of Justice Victims' Bill consultation. We are concerned that disabled and ethnic minority women face particular barriers to reporting violence and accessing support services and we have made a number of recommendations which support compliance with the Equality Act and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) by ensuring all victims receive equally effective support.


We are also concerned by the lack of data on the experiences of victims broken down by protected characteristic groups. In the response we recommend changes to data collection within the criminal justice system and the funding of targeted research to address evidence gaps.


Read our response to the Victims' Bill consultation [link removed]


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Equality and Human Rights Commission
Fleetbank House, 2-6 Salisbury Square, EC4Y 8JX


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